WARRENSBURG – If asked, the Johnson County Commissioners would tell you that Charlie Kavanaugh was always more than just the Western district’s representative. If asked, they’d tell you he was a pillar in the community.
Elected to his position in the commission three times, Kavanaugh served the county as the Western Commissioner for nearly 10 years before his sudden death on Saturday, June 13. As they thought about the gap left by Kavanaugh’s passing, Presiding Commissioner Troy Matthews, Eastern Commissioner Rusty Sproat and County Clerk Diane Thompson said the void felt nearly impossible to fill.
“He was such a wealth of knowledge,” Sproat said. “We’d be working on something and Troy and I would turn to him and say, ‘Hey, what’s the background on this?’ And he could explain that to us. That was a huge thing (and) that’s gone.”
That knowledge that Kavanaugh accumulated over his time as a commissioner would have been easy for anyone to hoard or gatekeep. For Kavanaugh, however, the knowledge he had was knowledge he shared, which Sproat said was incredibly helpful over this past year in his first term.
“Charlie was eager to share– to teach you things. There is so much to learn when you come in here from taxes to HR, what we do, what we don’t do for different constituents in the county,” Sproat said. “He was always willing to just talk you through something, you know? (He was) a very giving individual.”
From the local 4H programs to the Old Drum Animal Shelter, the commissioner said Kavanaugh had a lot of local causes close to his heart. Though he spent time overseas and owned a couple businesses around town– including Granny’s Ole Fashioned kettle corn and pork rinds food truck– the commissioners said Kavanaugh never forgot his humble roots here in Johnson County. When it came to the people he served as a commissioner, Kavanaugh cared deeply.
“I mean, he had a genuine concern for not just the people around him, but the people that were important to them as well,” Thompson said. “He was always asking (about) people’s well-being.”
Though Kavanaugh was a devoted civil servant, that didn’t stop him from having a laugh or two around the office.
Thompson remembers a time when Kavanaugh bought a few multi-colored clown wigs to wear around after the Recorder of Deeds put out a notice that they were hosting a staff wig day. When asked how he was, Sproat said Kavanaugh would often reply, “Charlie’s still Charlie-in.”
“I never knew what ‘Charlie-in’ was,” Matthews said with a laugh.
“I never did either,” Sproat said back.
“It’s better not to ask,” Thompson said with a smile.
Though the commission is obligated under state law to fill Kavanaugh’s vacancy within the next two weeks, the three agreed that finding someone to fill his shoes will be challenging, especially considering the slew of projects he was instrumental in that he’ll never see come to fruition.
“The thing that makes me the saddest is that when we move back (to the courthouse), he’s not going to be there to see the finished product,” Thompson said. “He was really proud of the renovation we were doing.”
While Kavanaugh and his wife, Sharon, never had children of their own, and only had a few relatives to speak of, the commissioners said everyone in Johnson County was a part of the Kavanaugh clan. The waitresses who’d serve his coffee at Mary Jane’s Cafe, the folks who’d stand in line for his famous kettle corn– to Kavanaugh, these people weren’t strangers. They were family.
“He had some adopted children and grandchildren, and by adopted, I mean adopted in his heart,” Thompson said. “He kind of took care of and looked out for (them), so I think that’s his legacy– just the goodness of his heart.”
A Celebration of Life gathering will be held in Charlie Kavanaugh’s honor at 10 a.m. Saturday, June 27, at the Williams Funeral Chapel on 1400 S. Maguire St. For a full obituary visit legacy.com/obituaries/warrensburgstarjournal/.
Hasina Shah can be reached at 660-747-8123.
